Fr. Alejandro Paternoster died on November 10, 2021 after a brief illness at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. He was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ on June 6, 1994 at St. Mary Cathedral, Lafayette. He enjoyed a rich, 27-year ministry.
Prior to his ordination, he graduated from Madison Heights High School, Anderson, IN; Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN and St. Meinrad Seminary, St. Meinrad, IN.
Fr. Paternoster served in many parishes throughout the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana including: St. Charles, Peru; St. Mary, Muncie; the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Lafayette; All Saints, Logansport; St. Joan of Arc, Kokomo; Sorrowful Mother, Wheatfield; St. Mary, Alexandria & St. Joseph, Elwood; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Carmel and most recently the pastorate of St. Joseph, Delphi; St. Joseph, Reynolds and Our Lady of the Lakes, Monticello. His religious journey also included a brief tenure as a Carthusian monk at the Charterhouse of the Transfiguration located on Mt. Equinox, in Sandgate, Vermont.
A highly skilled athlete as a young man, he enjoyed taking on new challenges and making them his own. To that end, he made himself into an accomplished audio- and video-phile; a skilled shooter (of both firearms and the compound bow); a discerning ‘gastronome’ (of both good food and fine wine); and a trivia master on the nuances of ‘The Andy Griffith Show’. (He even found time to earn his pilot’s license!)
His love for his family and his childhood friends is boundless, true even to this day.
In fact, he loved all people, seeing the face of Christ the Savior in everyone he met. He very much valued the time spent serving his parishioners; this was especially true for his ministry to the various Hispanic communities throughout the diocese in the parishes to which he was assigned.
He will be remembered as a kind and generous man, known for his warmth and faithfulness to his priestly promises.
Fr. Paternoster will be sorely missed throughout the entirety of the Lafayette Diocese.
He is survived by his mother, Susana Paternoster, and by his siblings Eduardo, Maria Laura and Andres. He was preceded in death by his father Atilio Jose, a sister Maria Susana and a sister-in-law Caroline and countless friends in the vineyard of the Lord.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Tuesday, November 16 at 11:00AM at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 14598 Oak Ridge Rd. Carmel, Indiana. Calling hours will be the evening before on November 15 at Our Lady of Carmel with visitation at 6:00pm followed by an evening prayer service at 7:00pm. The internment will be immediately following Mass at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery, Indianapolis.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Fr. Paternoster’s name may be sent to support the ministry of the Churches of Fr. Paternoster’s last pastorate assignment in Delphi, Reynolds, and Monticello, Indiana. These should be addressed to: St. Joseph Church 207 N Washington St., Delphi, IN 46923
